Classical preview: Wozzeck, Cardiff

Britain has been lucky with Alban Berg's first operatic masterpiece. There have been few duds among the productions of Wozzeck mounted here in the last 30 years, suggesting that the emotional power of its tightly organised expressionist score is hard to undermine. But even among such distinguished company, Richard Jones's staging for Welsh National Opera lingers in the memory like no other. Jones transplants the action from the 19th century to the present, turning Wozzeck from a soldier to a pathetic operative in a baked bean factory, in which everyone he meets is out to exploit him. If it's a pitiless view of the opera and of the human condition, it's also a troubling one. Some of Jones's productions have lost their edge when revived by another director, but there is so much in this show that, especially with Christopher Purves in the title role, its power can't be entirely dissipated.